Minnesota Press Coverage

Since the "Citizens United vs. Federal Election" Supreme Court decision in 2010, corporations have gained more influence in our elections, legislative process, and in our everyday lives. This decision granted constitutional rights to corporations as "persons," and makes money a form of "political" free speech. Join me and over 12,000 citizens in Minnesota of both political parties in supporting the "Movement to Amend," ending corporate personhood and dollars as "free" speech. Go to movementtoamend.org to show your support.

Join us in stating that human, not corporations, are entitled to the personal rights guarantee in the constitution, and it’s in all of our interest not to allow money to speak louder than our desires to protect the communities and resources that we value.

A diverse group of activists, organizers, artists, educators, students and elected officials from around the U.S. is gearing up for the 2017 Democracy Convention, being held in the Twin Cities next week.

'Lightening the day': Alternative inauguration event to be held in Winona

Shortly after Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, some Winona residents will come together for their own inauguration event.

“It’s a chance for people to connect and feel a sense of camaraderie and solidarity,” said Jean Lauer, who is organizing “The People’s Inauguration” — scheduled for Jan. 20 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Broken World Records in Winona.

“We want to provide an alternative to the overall heavy feeling that many people have right now,” she said. “We want to create hope and lighten the spirit of the day a little bit.”

For voters asking what can be done to keep billionaires from buying elections, Minnesota Citizens for Clean Elections (MnCCE), which Sturdevant mentions, is one viable option. Another is Move to Amend. MTA is a national organization with several chapters throughout Minnesota and in all 50 states. Its goal is to amend the Constitution to reverse the Supreme Court decision on Citizens United that is being used to funnel unlimited billions of dollars through our political system.

By now, David Cobb's visits to Duluth are enough to garner the attention of mainstream politics.

"We started out with 12 people in a living room in 2010," said Cobb of his movement to limit the influence of money on elections by amending the Constitution. "Now we've got 75 affiliates with 405,000 people and growing."

Move to Amend is a coalition of hundreds of organizations and hundreds of thousands of individuals committed to social and economic justice, ending corporate rule, and building a vibrant democracy that is genuinely accountable to the people, not corporate interests. We call for an amendment to the US Constitution to unequivocally state that inalienable rights belong to human beings only, and that money is not a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment and can be regulated in political campaigns.